Two Ships With Stolen Ukrainian Grain Stop Near Bosporus

Earlier, they were loaded in the port of Sevastopol in the Russian-occupied Crimea.

Russia is having problems with the passage of some ships through the Bosporus.

This was reported by the CFTS portal, citing the Crimean Wind monitoring group.

The bulk carrier Grumant has been near the Bosporus for three days and changed its anchorage. The vessel was loaded with 20,000 tons of stolen Ukrainian grain in Sevastopol on 28 February.

The bulk carrier Zafar has been near the Bosporus for two days. On February 25, this vessel was towed out of the port of Sevastopol by two tugs after loading 35,800 tons of stolen grain.

Two Russian vessels carrying weapons from Syria – the Yaz and the Sparta IV – were also unable to pass through the strait. As of 2 March, the Yaz was in the Syrian port of Tartus while the whereabouts of the Sparta IV were unknown.

Crimean ports handled 2.2 million tons of cargo in January-October 2023. This is seven times more than the volume they handled in the same period of 2022. “The increase in this indicator is mainly because of an increase in grain transshipment,” said representatives of the Crimean occupation administration. Only one factor can explain such a significant increase in the export of grain cargo through the ports of Crimea: the export of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine by the Russians.